'Instructional rounds' approach flips classroom evaluations"Generally, when you are working with teachers to improve instruction, you're focused on the teacher--[and] you go into classrooms to observe what the teacher does. This approach is really just the opposite," said KUSD Superintendent Karen Poppen. "We're really looking at the task the students are asked to do. What's on the student's desk is really the focus."

Montana Career Opportunity - Marketing Manager - WhoCanHelp.comExciting Internet start-up looking for an experienced marketing manager with a deep understanding of the Internet and online marketing. Great opportunity for career growth as the first member of a new marketing department reporting directly to the CEO.

Milestone year: Millionth Montanan coming soonThe slowest-growing state in one of the nation's fastest-growing regions, Montana will remain a vast and largely empty place. Don't expect to wait in line at fly-fishing streams. And morning commutes will still average 17 minutes, enough to make big city dwellers cry.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

July MEDA NewsHopefully, all of your picnic baskets are packed and you are ready to enjoy a great holiday weekend.

University of Montana degree comparable in regionIt is true that tuition takes a significant bite out of a Montana family's budget. Unfortunately, Montana income levels still lag both regional and national averages. The best way to increase that average salary is through investment in higher education, both by the individual and by the state. In the meantime, we will work to ensure that higher education is kept as cost-effective as possible while maintaining among the best educational experiences available in public higher education.

Preparing students to succeedRight now we are working on a 3+1+3 Program with Montana Tech. Translated, this would mean three years of high school with one year of college within high school leaving three years of college remaining at Montana Tech. This will save families a year of college expense.

Some common sense on noncompete clausesThis is no way to build a cluster of video game companies in Massachusetts, and it is no way to grow an innovation-driven state economy in the insanely competitive 21st century.

Growing Fiber Internet in Rural America: A Stimulus Success StoryUnlike some of the criticism other stimulus priorities got, rural broadband initiatives not only put people to work but also do things that would not been done and have an enduring payoff, a 21st century version of the federal government's programs to bring electricity and telephones to all citizens.

Grant to fund Montana Artrepreneur Program"I like to think of this as creating the unofficial official business school for art," said Cinda Holt, a business development specialist for the Montana Art Council's Stevensville office. "Artists creating one-of-a-kind work are even unique from a normal small business structure. We're really trying to help them address that uniqueness and get it marketable."